Israel Aids Victims of Both Sandy and Ghana Shopping Center Collapse

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The rubble of the collapsed mall in Ghana. Photo: Screenshot.

Just days after Israel Flying Aid, an Israeli global humanitarian organization, distributed supplies of gas, food, batteries and generators to Hurricane Sandy victims, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Homefront Command delegation departed for Ghana to assist search-and-rescue efforts following the collapse of a multi-story shopping center in the city of Accra that killed at least four people and trapped dozens.

Israel Flying Aid used donations from Israelis living in the US, and chains such as Panera Bread and Dunkin Donuts, to distribute food to hurricane victims on the south shore of Long Island, the Nassau County Police, the Freeport Fire Department and the Red Cross Shelter at the Nassau Community College. They also fed people waiting in long lines to get gas, currently in short supply in the affected areas. “As Israelis, we know how to react to such disasters,” said Flying Aid North American Operations Manager Moti Kahana, according to the Israel News Agency.

Now, the Homefront Command delegation has departed for Ghana Wednesday night. The delegation includes seven search-and-rescue personnel and two doctors, and was created in coordination with the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the Ghanaian government.

Magen David Adom (Israel’s national emergency medical service) is prepared to send more aid if necessary.In the past, according to Israel Hayom, Israel has dispatched aid delegations to numerous disaster zones around the globe, including to Haiti in 2010 following the earthquake that devastated that country and to Japan in 2011 after the earthquake and tsunami there.